CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS

1 Corinthians 15:3; John 4:43-54; Leviticus.1:1-9

 RECAP

Last week we entered what I called the last lap of 1 Corinthians.  Having considered such obscure issues as food offered to idols and head-coverings for women; having blushed as we listened to the sexual antics of the Corinthians condemned, and squirmed as our marriages were held up for scrutiny; we at last feel that we are on safer ground.

For in chapter 15 Paul will counter the argument that there is no resurrection of the body.  This is what some of the Corinthians were saying (v.12):But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 

 The super-spiritual Corinthians did not like the idea of a resurrected body.  In the life-to-come, they wanted to be blessed spirits, free from all the constraints that a body inflicts upon a soul.  Paul’s answer is (v.13):

If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 

 And if Christ has not been raised then the whole of apostolic Christianity come tumbling down.  v.14:And if Christ has not been raised our preaching is useless and so is your faith.

 Paul feels the need to take the Corinthians back to basics, back to first principles. So he says to them in v.1: Now brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you

Denying the resurrection of believers—with its implication of denying Christ’s resurrection too—is not one of those matters over which we can agree to disagree.  It strikes at the heart of our faith. 

There’s never any harm—indeed, there is often a lot of good—in returning to the basics of our faith.  So that’s what we’ll be doing for the next few weeks.  This week we’re going to examine the phrase Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. 

 TEXT

A gospel received

But just before we do so I want to draw your attention to the fact that Paul says to the Corinthians,  For what I received I passed on to you.

 There’s a bit of a fad these days among historians which is to describe the Apostle Paul as the founder of Christianity.  For example, in Simon Segbag Montefiore’s most recent book “Jerusalem: the biography”, he calls the Paul the “creator of Christianity”. 

 It’s a very subtle way of undermining Paul’s theology and any form of Christianity which takes his teaching seriously.  Their point is that it was Paul who transformed the man Jesus of Nazareth into the Son of God.  Because he was more energetic and visionary than the Jerusalem-based apostles; because he was willing to break free from the constraints of Judaism and preach to the Gentiles—Paul’s version of Christianity won the day. 

Without Paul, Christianity would simply have become another Jewish sect, like the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the Essenes. 

 Therefore, Paul, rather than Jesus, is the true founder of Christianity; the implication being that what Paul created was a million miles from anything Jesus had envisaged.  It’s a way of driving a wedge between Jesus and Paul.  It’s purpose, as a I say, is to undermine Paul’s theology, especially his interpretation of Christ’s death. 

 Well, look at what Paul says in v.3 about the content of the gospel he preached to the Corinthians: For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance

 For what I received.  Paul is saying that he is not the inventor of the gospel.  For all his original thinking in many aspects of the faith, he does not claim the gospel as his own bright idea.  That Christ died for sins and rose on the third day are truths he himself was taught.

 In v.8 he talks about how the Lord Jesus appeared to him, that is, on the road to Damascus:and last of all he appeared to me as to one abnormally born.

 That encounter with the Lord Jesus convinced Paul that Jesus was none other than the Messiah, the Son of God.  But thereafter it was brave Christians like Ananias and others in the Damascus church who took Paul under their wing.  And later it was Barnabas who persuaded the apostles to accept Paul—their former persecutor—as a brother in Christ. 

 They would have taught Paul the facts about Jesus.  They would have recalled his teaching—the Sermon on the Mount, his parables—and particularly the teaching done in private, such as in the upper room before his arrest.  And he would have heard from them about our Lord’s resurrection appearances, which he lists here in chapter 15. 

 Friends, let me make this one point of application.  Our faith is a received faith. 

Be very suspicious of anyone claiming to have discovered something new about our faith, something that the church has neglected since New Testament times.  On a popular level there are the Da Vinci Code-type conspiracy theories about secret teachings and suppressed Gospels.  But even among academics, there are those who want to make a name for themselves by claiming that we’ve misread the Bible, or even that those who wrote the New Testament misunderstood Jesus. 

When you come across these theories either in books or on the TV, don’t panic.  There’s nothing new under the sun.  Just about every crazy idea has had an airing at some point or another during the last two thousand years. 

Ask yourself—who gains by this?  Is there a book deal behind all this?  A TV series perhaps? 

And more to the point, ask yourself—do I gain by this?  Does this help my faith?  Does this new perspective enrich me spiritually, or does it leave my soul impoverished? 

One of the great comforts of our faith is that despite so many efforts to stamp it out, and despite times when the simple gospel has been suffocated by elaboration and ornamentation, the message of the apostles has been passed down to us so that we too can discover that Christ died for our sins. 

Christ died

Now then, let’s focus on this phrase, which Paul says is of first importance:Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures

 1. Christ died for our sins

The first point we need to note is that there is a connection between Christ’s death and our sins. 

Sin is a problem.  Your sin is a problem.  Your sin is so serious that the Lord Jesus recommends that you cut off your hand or gouge out your eye rather than go to hell with them intact.  (Mt.5:29,30)

Your sin has stirred up the wrath of Almighty God.  Just as we have taken his beautiful creation and trashed it with our polluting gases and chemicals; we have polluted the climax of his creation, ourselves, with our greed and lies and pride and selfishness. 

How did you feel when you saw pictures of those muggers pretending to help that Malaysian student who’d been hurt, while they were actually stealing from him?  Or watching the furniture store going up in flames—a beautiful Victorian building which had been in the family for over a hundred years?  Or listening to Tariq Jahan, father of one of the young men run over and killed as they tried to defend their property? 

Who could remain unmoved?  Who could remain impassive?  Were you not enraged?  Just as we are enraged when we hear of millions starving because of corrupt governments; or of children suffering because of abusive adults; or of the innocent being jailed while the guilty walk free? 

What kind of God, then, would the Living God be, if he remained indifferent to the cruelty that human beings inflict on one another; or the vindictiveness that we spit at one another; or the malice towards others that swirls around our minds?  It makes God angry that we fail to love our neighbour as ourselves.

And it makes God angry that we do not love him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.  Our sin is a personal affront to our Maker. 

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.  (Ps.51:4)

Sin is a problem.  It separates us from God, and will continue to do so through all of eternity unless something is done about it.

The marvellous truth is that something has been done.  The Living God, the one we have offended, has acted in grace and mercy. 

A couple of years ago we did a short series of sermons on the book of Leviticus.  It’s one of the most neglected books in the Bible, regarded as unintelligible and irrelevant.  After all, in the light of the cross isn’t it redundant, with all its rules and regulations about rituals and sacrifices? 

True, it is redundant in the sense that because of Jesus we no longer need to put into practice its stipulations about sacrificing bulls and goats and lambs. 

But if you want to understand the connection between Christ’s death and our sins, it is essential that you get to grips with Leviticus.  For it is in Leviticus that the concept of substitution is explained.  The animal dies as the worshipper’s substitute.  

Leviticus 1 contains the basic rules for making a burnt offering, which was offered in order to obtain forgiveness of sins.  v.3 says that the offering must come from the herd (that is, it must cost the worshipper something, it can’t be road kill) and it must be a male without defect (the most valuable in the herd).  Look at v.4:He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.

By laying his hand upon the animal’s head, the worshipper was doing two things.  First, it was an act of connection.  He was identifying the animal with himself.  He was saying, “This animal is me.  What happens to this animal is done to me.”  Second, he was symbolically transferring his sins to the animal.  It would die as his substitute.  It was dying for his sins. 

He had to slit its throat, collect the blood in a basin, and then the priest would sprinkle the blood on the sides of the altar. 

Paul makes the connection between our Lord’s death and the concept of substitution by using  that little word “for”—Christ died for our sins. 

When you do something for someone you are doing it because they can’t do it for themselves.  A child can’t cut up their food; you do it for them. 

The Apostle Peter does the same in 1Pet. 3:18:

For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God

The interesting question is, how did the apostles come to make the connection between our Lord’s death and the sacrificial system of the Old Testament?  After all, there was nothing intrinsic in the crucifixion to link Jesus’ death to sacrifice and atonement. 

The only plausible answer is that it was Jesus himself who made the connection.  As he celebrated the Passover with them, Jesus said to his disciples, (Mt.26:28): This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many, for the forgiveness of sins. 

Christ Jesus gave his life, poured out his blood, so that the “many” (those who trust in him) need not.  He died as their substitute.   The same idea lies behind our Lord’s statement in Mk.10:45 when he says:

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

What is a ransom?  It’s money paid so that a prisoner can go free.  The money takes the place of, is the substitute for, the prisoner. 

Theologians refer to this teaching as the doctrine of penal substitution.  Substitution speaks of someone taking someone else’s place.  That’s what happens in sport, when a player is injured or isn’t playing well.  The Lord Jesus Christ is our substitute, he takes our place.  In truth, it should have been me on that cross. 

The word penal refers to the fact that in becoming our substitute our Lord was punished for our sin.  We talk about the penal system, that is, the system by which criminals are punished for their crimes.  Again, in sport, when someone breaks the rules a penalty is awarded.  The Lord Jesus bore, endured, suffered the penalty that we deserve. 

This is what the Bible teaches and this is how the Church has always understood Christ’s death. 

Here is love vast as the ocean, loving-kindness like the flood

When the Prince of life, our ransom, shed for us his precious blood.

 2. according to the Scriptures

Let’s move on the second phrase; that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.  Why does Paul feel the need to add that phrase, according to the Scriptures?   We can identify various reasons, but the most important is to demonstrate that Christianity, far from being a new religion, is in direct continuity with Old Testament religion. 

For Christians to say that Jesus was the promised Messiah was ludicrous to Jewish minds.  At first they had wondered.  He seemed to act like the Messiah—giving sight to the blind, raising the dead, even the way he had stormed through the temple.  Hosanna to the Son of David, they cried. 

But then he had categorically proved that he could not be the Messiah—he got himself crucified.  As Paul says in 1Cor.1:23: but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews

Yet the first Christians insisted that this Jesus, this crucified Jesus, was indeed the Messiah.  Again, we have to ask, Where did they get this idea from?  1^st century Palestine was a hot-bed of Messianic expectation and there were no shortages of claimants for the title.  But as each pretender was dispatched by the Romans, their followers evaporated.  Not so with Jesus.  Why were his disciples so dogged? 

One answer is his resurrection. 

Another, is the Scriptures.  And it was the Lord Jesus himself who taught them this.  Lets walk behind those two distressed disciples hurrying back to Emmaus, and eavesdrop on their conversation with that stranger who had joined them.  We know it’s Jesus, but they don’t.

He said to them, How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.  Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?  And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning him.  (Lk. 24:25)

I’ve often wondered what specific Scriptures the Lord spoke about.  Let me suggest that he probably talked about how the whole sacrificial system, with its insistence on the shedding of blood, pointed forward to him. 

Then there’s Exodus 12, the Passover story.  The lamb was to be without defect and it’s blood was to be smeared on the lintels of the door-posts.  That lamb died so that the eldest son within the household would live—substitution.  Remember that the Passover was the backdrop to our Lord’s death.  While the bleating lambs were being slaughtered in the temple, the bleeding Lamb of God was dying on the cross.

And surely Isaiah 53.  The language of penal substitution runs through the chapter like a motto through a stick of rock:

            he took up our infirmities

            he carried our sorrows

            he was pierced for our transgressions

            he was crushed for our iniquities

            the punishment that brought us peace was upon him

            and by his wounds we are healed

 For he bore the sin of many and made intercession for transgressions (last sentence)

The cross was not a tragic mistake.  It was the culmination of God’s plan of salvation.  The Apostle Peter leaves us in no doubt when he says in Acts 2:23:

This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you with the help of wicked men put him to death by nailing him to the cross.

Faith

If the doctrine of penal substitution demonstrates how a holy God can forgive unholy sinners, how does the individual appropriate Christ’s sacrifice for him/herself?  Does it happen automatically; or is there something we must do?

Lets return to the opening verses of 1Cor.15.   Paul says:

Now brothers I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.  By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.  Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 

The Corinthians received this gospel and if they now reject it, they would have believed in vain. 

The benefits of Christ’s death are not applied universally and automatically to everyone.  The gospel is to be received, it is to be believed.  We are to have faith in or on or even into the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Sounds simple, but what exactly do we mean?  Let me refer you to John 4 and the story we read earlier of the royal official who asks the Lord to heal his son.  The man pleads with Jesus (v.49)  Sir, come down before my child dies. 

But Jesus has no intention of going, and in v.50 the Lord tells the official: You may go.  Your son will live. Then John tells us: The man took Jesus at his word and departed.

The man took Jesus at his word and departed.  That is the essence of faith.  He believed that Jesus didn’t need to lay hands on the boy for him to be healed; he believed that when he returned home the boy would be well.  And he demonstrated the reality of his faith the moment he turned away from Jesus and took his first step homeward.

Faith is taking Jesus at his word: that he poured out his life, his blood, for the forgiveness of sins; that he gave his life as a ransom for many; that he is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep; that he is the bread of life and the living water.  With all the consequent humiliating implications: that we are sinners in need of a saviour. 

Sirs, what must I do to be saved, says the Philippian jailer (Acts 16:30,31)

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, is Paul’s answer. 

Christian faith is not faith in faith; that as long as I believe something, anything, I’ll be ok.  Nor is it a passive admiration of Jesus.  It is not about turning over a new leaf.  It is not about undergoing certain initiation rites.  It is about taking Jesus at his word about who he is and what he has done; and staking your life on it. 

 

CONCLUSION

Have you taken Jesus at his word?  Do you believe him; believe in him? 

At the close of the service we’ll be singing that magnificent hymn “Man of Sorrows”.  The second verse says:

Bearing shame and scoffing rude/In my place condemned he stood

Can you say that, that Jesus Christ died in your place, as your substitute? 

If you’ve never done it before, do it now, do it today; tell the Lord that you believe this. 

Christ died for our sins…By this gospel you are saved…

 

 

A HOLY DIET

 Leviticus 11 with Mk.7 Sermon #4

INTRODUCTION

When I was studying law a number of my class-mates were Jews.  None of them were particularly religious.  They observed the Jewish holidays just as most Scots observe Christmas—more out of tradition than religious conviction.  There was nothing about them that marked them out as different from the rest of us.  They didn’t dress differently, they didn’t speak differently, they didn’t  look any different either.

However, there was one thing that distinguished them from the rest of the class.  At parties they were very particular about what they ate.  They would want to know what exactly was in the sandwiches.  A platter of meat would be scrutinised and questions asked. 

Most of us know that Jews won’t eat pork.  You may also be aware that they won’t eat any kind of shellfish either.  Even many secular Jews won’t compromise on this.

When we turn our noses up at certain foods its usually a matter of taste.  It’s certainly not because of our religion.  We find it strange that food and drink can be part of one’s faith.  The idea is foreign to Christianity.  The Lord Jesus specifically said Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him unclean?  (Mk.7:18). 

Mark makes a point of telling us that in so saying our Lord declared all foods clean. 

Therefore, it’s not easy for us to appreciate why other religions make such a big deal about food.  It’s not easy for us to listen patiently to the lists of clean and unclean animals in Leviticus 11.  How can one animal be “clean” and another “unclean”?  Why is it all right to eat a sheep but not a pig or a camel or a rabbit?  What’s wrong with prawns and oysters? 

And here’s the million dollar question: what possible relevance does all this have to us?  What bearing does any of this have on us as Christians.  The Lord Jesus declared all foods clean; surely this is one part of the Bible we can ignore.

RECAP

Over the past few weeks since we began looking at Leviticus we’ve been thinking about sacrifice and the priests who offer the sacrifices.  The overarching lesson I’ve been trying to communicate is this: that God has not changed, and his requirements have not changed.

If we are to worship Almighty God as he wants to be worshipped; if we are to be reconciled to him, at peace with him, then he still requires us to bring a sacrifice.  And we still need a high priest to offer it on our behalf.

The requirement has not changed.  What has changed is that in the Lord Jesus Christ we have a better sacrifice than the blood of bulls and goats and lambs.  Heb.9:26 says  But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.

Christ Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  He is the spotless lamb who, to use Peter’s words, has redeemed us from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers.  (1Pet.1:18). 

More than that, not only is he a better sacrifice, he is a better high priest than Aaron or any of his successors.  To quote from Hebrews again: but because Jesus lives for ever he has a permanent priesthood.  Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him because he always lives to intercede for them. (7:24,25)

Aaron wore a breastplate studded with twelve jewels representing the twelve tribes of Israel, symbolic of him carrying the nation close to his heart.  So the Lord Jesus Christ, our great high priest, carries his beloved ones close to his heart, praying to the Father for us without ceasing.

CONTEXT

With Leviticus 11 the work of the priests begins.  There was more to being a priest than just officiating at the tabernacle or temple—just as there is more to being a minister than preaching sermons on a Sunday!  Another important job was teaching the people God’s law.  They had to teach the people what God expected of them.  And they themselves were to living examples of what they taught.

Chapter 10 tells us of what happened when they failed in that regard.  Aaron’s two eldest sons, Nadab and Abihu, offered what 10:1 calls unauthorised fire before the Lord, contrary to his command.  The fire for their censers should have come from the altar.  For some reason they took fire from elsewhere.  Given the instruction in v.9 banning the priests from drinking alcohol while on duty there is a suggestion that they might have been drunk and that’s what led to their negligence.

The point is, they offered unauthorised, literally strange or alien fire.  And as a result the Lord consumed them with fire. 

Look at 10:10, for this is the nub of the matter.  The Lord says to Aaron: You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean. 

Nadab and Abihu had failed to do that: as far as they were concerned fire from any source would do.  After all, fire is fire.  But they were wrong.  Fire involved in worship had to come from a holy source, the altar. 

So what follows now are instructions on how to distinguish between the holy and the common, the unclean and the clean.  Chapter 11 deals with animals (which can be eaten and which can’t), and what happens if you touch a carcass. Chapter 12 is about the after effects of child-birth; chapters 13 &14 with infections, both of humans and of objects (after all, mildew on your clothes looks like an infection).  Chapter 15 concerns bodily functions. 

The long and the short of it is, there are certain things and states of being which render a person “unclean”.  When one is unclean one must physically remove oneself from the community in case you contaminate somebody else.  One must do one’s best to avoid becoming unclean, but sometimes it can’t be helped.  It’s going to happen at some point or another.  So provision is made for becoming clean again. 

Underlying all this is the need to be holy.  Please don’t miss this.  At the end of chapter 11, at v.44, the Lord says:

I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.  Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves about on the ground.  I am the Lord who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy because I am holy.

There is a connection between the exodus and these instructions.  There is a connection between God liberating his people from slavery in Egypt and these dietary regulations.  There is a connection between being holy and what they eat. 

That may seem strange to us, and therefore a point that’s easily missed.  There’s nothing arbitrary about these food laws.  There is a very specific purpose behind him.  And that purpose is holiness.  

CHAPTER 11

Summary

Before we go any further, let me summarise chapter 11 for you.  v.3 states that any animal that has a split hoof which is completely divided and chews the cud may be eaten.  So that would be cattle and sheep.  Other animals, which either chew the cud but don’t have split hooves; or have split hooves but don’t chew the cud are to be regarded as unclean. 

Fish with scales and fins can be eaten; but no other water creatures.  Birds of prey are out of bounds too.  So are flying insects, except those that hop, like crickets and grasshoppers.  Animals that swarm or scurry, like mice and lizards are also unclean. 

The chapter also states that you make yourself unclean if you touch a carcass, regardless of whether the animal is clean or unclean.  If you find yourself in that situation, you wait till evening, you wash, and then you are clean again. 

And it’s not just people who can be made unclean by a carcass.  v.32 says that anything coming into contact with death—be it made of wood, cloth, hide, or sackcloth—had to be washed in water.  v.33 says that if you took the lid off a pot to check how the stew was doing and found a dead mouse floating inside you had to throw out the food and the pot. 

The only exception to this rule was a spring or cistern (v.36).  This is where they got their water from, not just for drinking but for ritual purification too. So if a dead animal was found there, the water, which was flowing constantly, was not regarded as unclean.  A source of purity cannot be defiled. 

Explanation

Scholars and commentators have puzzled over these regulations for centuries, trying to make sense of them, trying to find a pattern, a rationale behind why some animals are considered clean and others not. 

The health and hygiene theory has become very popular in recent years; but that says more about modern concerns than about ancient beliefs. Almost anything can be eaten safely if it’s cooked thoroughly.  And anyway, if hygiene were the rationale, that would still be relevant.  So why did the Lord Jesus declare all foods clean? 

The best explanation in my opinion comes from an anthropologist called Mary Douglas.  She points out that creation divides the animal kingdom into three areas of activity—the land, the air, and the sea. 

Each area has a particular motion or action associated with it—land animals have hooves for walking and running; birds have feathers for flying; and fish have fins and scales for swimming. 

Those animals which are fully true to type are clean; those which deviate in some way are unclean.  Take land animals.  Cattle and sheep have hooves and they chew the cud.  That is being fully true to type.  All other animals deviate from this pattern somehow.  Either they don’t chew the cud or they don’t have hooves. 

Water creatures that don’t have both fins and scales, like dolphins and shellfish, deviate from type.  They are unclean.

Little scurrying animals make a similar point.  Creation is about order, not chaos; and their movements are, to our eyes, chaotic.  Birds of prey feed on carrion, and their association with death, the ultimate chaos, render them unclean.  It’s the same with people: any contact with death renders a person unclean. 

So this whole business of clean and unclean animals was a way of using nature as a giant object lesson to God’s people.  The Lord was saying to them: you are to be true to type.  I rescued you from Egypt for a reason.  You are my chosen people; chosen to be holy; chosen to be a light to the world; chosen to be a kingdom of priests.  You must conform to type.  You must not be like the pagan nations around you.  You must be what you are called to be. 

Every time they made the distinction between an animal that was clean and one that was unclean, they were also making a distinction between themselves and the Gentile world.  Every time they themselves became unclean by touching something dead, and thus had to separate themselves from everybody else, they were reminded of the tremendous privilege that was theirs—of not being cut off from the Living God, but enjoying is constant presence. 

APPLICATION

In 1Pet.1:15, 16 the apostle quotes Leviticus saying: But just as he who called you is holy so be holy in all you do, for it is written, Be holy because I am holy. 

The principle that God’s people are to be a holy people, distinguishing them from the unbelieving world, remains as true today as it ever was.  We too are a liberated people—liberated from the power of sin and death.  We too are called to be a royal priesthood.  We are to be different from the world, attractively different.  We are still called to be true to type.  What has changed is how we demonstrate that are a holy people belonging to God. 

The Jews demonstrated their distinctiveness through outward practices like observing the Levitical food laws.  Indeed, these laws became what could be called a badge of identity for them.  You knew your next door neighbours were Jews because of what they ate and didn’t eat.

In time this became a problem.  As often happens with religious people, the Jews became more concerned with the outward practice than with the inner spiritual reality.  Their attitude was, so long as you observe the rules, you’ll be “clean”, your relationship with God and the community will be fine. 

 No wonder the Pharisees were furious when our Lord Jesus turned the whole idea on its head: Nothing outside a man can make him unclean by going into him.  Rather it is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean.

Don’t misunderstand.  Our Lord wasn’t criticising the Old Testament law.  What he was doing was bringing out its real meaning.  To be fair, Old Testament believers who saw beyond the superficial, had always understood that the real source of impurity was sin. 

Ps.51, King David’s prayer of confession, repeatedly asks for spiritual cleansing: Wash away all my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin (v.2)  Cleanse me with hyssop and I shall be clean, wash me and I shall be whiter than snow (v.7)

David realized that by committing adultery with Bathsheba he had not been true to type—he had not behaved as a married man should, nor as an anointed king of Israel. 

What comes out of man, says the Lord Jesus, is what makes him unclean...evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 

These are what make us unclean in God’s sight.  They are not worthy of his people.  They belong to the sphere of rebellion and death.  When we allow such attitudes to take up residence in our hearts and minds; when they begin to dictate our behaviour, we are acting contrary to type.  There is nothing to distinguish us from unbelievers. 

And therefore we must do all we can to avoid contact with anything that would encourage such an inconsistency. 

We can’t remove ourselves from the real world; we’re going to be tempted, we’re going to pick up some dirt along the way—it’s inevitable.  But all the more reason for not putting ourselves in the situation where unclean thoughts and actions become irresistible. 

The Lord Jesus was quite ruthless.  He said: If your right eye causes you to sin gouge it out and throw it away…And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.  (Mt.6:29,30)

What’s he talking about?  He’s talking about taking drastic action to remove ourselves from anything that would stunt our growth in holiness; anything that would promote that which truly renders us unclean in God’s sight. 

Think about the company you keep.  Are there certain people in your life, who, when you are with them, somehow manage to dim the light of Christ that otherwise shines brightly from you?  It’s not just that they are not Christians.  It’s that they actively, deliberately dampen your faith.  When you are with them it’s like being separated from the Lord.  You become more like them, and less like the Saviour you love. 

You become unclean.

Think about some of the TV programmes or films you watch, or books and magazines you read.  What influence are they having on you?  What thoughts linger in your mind afterwards? What impression do they leave behind?  By God’s grace you have been dying to sin, but exposing yourself to such material is like giving water to a thirsty man–the old sinful self is revived and refreshed. 

You make yourself unclean. 

Be holy as I am holy, says the Lord.  And that means doing all we can to avoid that which pollutes our souls as well as doing all we can to promote and encourage Christ-likeness. 

The Apostle Paul says to the Philippians (4:8): whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. 

 And what if we do sully ourselves?  It’s a horrible feeling, knowing that we have sinned, knowing that we have allowed ourselves to be led into temptation and quite brazenly feasted on that which is unclean.  Guilt clings to us like cigarette smoke on our clothes.  Like King David our only prayer is: Wash me, cleanse me, purify me. 

 The ancient Israelites washed in water, they waited, and then they were clean.  They were accepted back into the community.

 What about us?  For if the contamination is inward and spiritual, then no amount of washing in water will help.  Where can we go to be made clean?

Leviticus 11 offers us some help.  Do you remember I mentioned the one exception to the rule that death contaminates?  v.36 says: A spring, however, or a cistern for collecting water remains clean

Since a spring or cistern is a source of water, and therefore the source of purity, it cannot be defiled. 

How could the Lord Jesus touch the leper without becoming unclean himself?

How could the woman with the haemorrhage touch him without contaminating him?

How could he take Jairus’ dead daughter by the hand and yet remain spiritual clean?

Because, my friends, the Lord Jesus Christ is the source of purity.  He is the one who makes us clean.  He is the living water, the source of the water of life.  When we come to him in faith we are washing ourselves clean, spiritually clean.  We are washing away all the dirt, all the grime, that stains our souls. 

CONCLUSION

Are you a Christian who in someway has not been acting according to type?  You have asked Christ Jesus to be your Saviour and Lord, yet there is something in your life which is directly contradicting that profession of faith.  You have failed to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. 

Now is the time to get right with God again. Now is the time to return to the source of spiritual purity. 

And perhaps there is someone here today for whom religion has been all about outward signs of respectability.  You think it’s about being a good person, observing the rules, playing the game. 

 Friend, true religion has never been limited to the outward show, to rules and regulations.  You too must go to the source of purity, to the Lord Jesus Christ, who will wash away the sin that otherwise will keep you out of heaven.  Rev.21:27 tells us: Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. 

The old hymn puts it like this:

What can wash away my stain? Nothing but the blood of Jesus

What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Oh precious is the flow that makes me white as snow

No other fount I know, Nothing but the blood of Jesus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WE HAVE A PRIEST

Leviticus 8 with Heb.7:23-8:2 Sermon #3

 INTRODUCTION

We’re not very good at ceremonies in the Church of Scotland; at least that’s my view.  I’ve been to services in other churches where ceremonies and rituals are their forte.  The clergy are robed in bright, attractive vestments.  The congregation know when to stand and knee and even when to leave their pew and come to the front.  There’s all sorts of paraphernalia assaulting the senses: sight and sound and smell. When it’s done on a grand scale it can be very impressive. 

We, however, don’t really go in for that sort of thing.  The nearest we get to a grand occasion is the ordination and induction of a minister.  All of Presbytery is expected to be present.  We process into the church in single file.  But because we don’t have a proper dress code we can look quite a motley crew.  We’re supposed to be wearing our academic gowns and hoods.  But none of it is uniform.  Some opt for sober black.  Others prefer the blue of the saltire.  There are those who insist on what’s called ecumenical white; while there are others who refuse to wear anything other than a suit and tie. 

My robes are second hand and have seen better days.  But since I hardly wear them it’s not worth replacing them.

When we come to the part of the service where the Presbytery lays hands on the new minister there can be an almighty scrum, as we all jostle for position.  It’s supposed to be one of the holiest days in a minister’s life.  But I recall one colleague telling us that that as he knelt and bowed his head all he could think about was how on earth did these guys get their shoes so shiny. 

The giving of the right hand of fellowship can be a bit of an obstacle course as ministers and elders try to pass each other in a tight space and then work out how to return to their own seat. 

I don’t know how it looks to you, but from my vantage point these services aren’t always the dignified occasion they purport to be. 

BRIDGE

Aaron’s ordination as high priest was not only a dignified occasion; it followed a very precise procedure as directed by the Lord God himself.  The office of high priest was the most important in Israel.  The ordination service not only served to induct the high priest into his office; it sent out a very clear message to everyone as to what God expected of them.  For the high priest was the living embodiment of the nation. 

Israel was called by God to be a nation of priests.  That’s what the Lord had said to them at the foot of Mt. Sinai (Ex.19:6):

Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

They were to represent God to the whole the world, and the whole world to God.  The priesthood in general and the high priest in particular were to be to Israel what Israel was to be to the rest of humanity.  Hence, the elaborate ordination ceremony; the setting aside of these men for God’s service. 

In 1Pet. 2:9 the apostle tells us:But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

The New Testament Church of Jesus Christ no longer has a priesthood—it is a priesthood.  Every Christian has a priestly role.  Right at this very moment we are fulfilling our priestly calling as we offer worship to God.  Peter says that in 2:5: you also, like living stones, are being built into a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 

Our calling is to represent God to the world and the world to God.  On the one hand  we declare the love and mercy of God to our unbelieving family and friends.  On the other hand, through our prayers of intercession, we bring those who are in need to God’s throne of grace. 

And if we are a kingdom of priests, we need a high priest, to lead us, and who himself represents us before the Living God.  The Lord Jesus Christ is that high priest.  This is the theme that weaves its way through the book of Hebrews.  As we read in Heb.8:1:

We do have such a high priest who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man.

PLAN

Today we’re going to look at Aaron’s ordination service in Leviticus 8.  But just as we did with the sacrifices, we’ll do so as Christians.  If the New Testament writers looked back at this ceremony and could see how it pointed forward to the Lord Jesus, we have an obligation to be asking ourselves: what does this teach us about him and about his church?

TEXT

First, then, let’s look at Leviticus 8.  Up till now Leviticus has dealt with instructions for the various sacrifices.  There’s a summary statement in 7:37: These then are the regulations for the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the ordination offering and the fellowship offering.

We’ve looked at just two of these, the burnt offering and the fellowship offering.  Now it’s time to get the ball rolling; to implement the system.  The tabernacle is all set.  Everything is in place.  All that’s needed are the staff. 

Aaron and his sons have been set aside to be the priests for Israel.  They will be assisted by their relatives from the tribe of Levi.  However, they can’t just turn up on Monday morning and start offering sacrifices.  They themselves have to go through an elaborate ceremony.  As I’ve said before, you cannot barge in on God.

The process begins with washing (v.6).  The outward cleansing is expected to mirror an inward, spiritual purity.  As the Psalmist says:

Who may ascend the hill of the Lord?  Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands [the outward] and a pure heart [the inward].

An outward show of morality and respectability doesn’t wash with the Living God.  There must be inner purity too; purity of heart and mind. 

Next (v7ff) Moses dresses Aaron in his high priest’s regalia.  The tunic was an undergarment made from linen; the sash was long and embroidered and went round his waist; the robe was made of blue material and was worn over the tunic like a poncho.  The ephod was like a vest or waistcoat that was worn over the robe.  It supported the breastplate which was studded with twelve jewels representing the twelve tribes of Israel.  The idea was that the high priest carried the entire nation close to his heart. 

The Urim and Thummim mentioned in v.8 were a couple of stones which were used for casting lots (a bit like dice). 

The turban was also made from blue material and attached to it was a gold plate on which were inscribed the words “holy to the Lord”. 

 These gorgeous vestments conferred a dignity on Aaron that was almost royal.  No one could doubt the importance of his role.  His ministry was nothing less than to mediate between God and the nation.  Their standing before God depended on him.

But again all the outward paraphernalia counts for nothing if the inner man is not right.  Ps.132:9: May your priests be clothed with righteousness

How often have simple Christian folk been so dazzled by pomp and ceremony, by gold and gilt, that they have been blind to the moral and spiritual poverty of their leaders?  Never be fooled by outward appearances.  Or by honours and titles—bishop, archbishop, Right Reverend, Very Reverend. May your priests be clothed with righteousness. 

 

The next step in the process is to sanctify the tabernacle and all its furnishings, including the altar, before they can be used.

Only now (v.14) can the first sacrifices be offered; and they are for Aaron and his sons.  There is no pretence that because they are the priests that they are intrinsically better or holier than anyone else.  They too are sinners in need of forgiveness.  In fact, we read in 9:2 that the first sacrifice Aaron himself offered was a bull calf, with echoes of his role in the Golden Calf fiasco.  If he is to offer sacrifices on behalf of the people, he himself needs to be in a right relationship with God.

Again, how foolish we are when we imagine that ministers are somehow in and of themselves better than everybody else.  A colleague of mine was telling a parishioner of sleepless nights following the birth of his son.  She refused to believe him.  She couldn’t imagine a minister’s baby being anything but an angel. 

Let me assure you: ordination does not confer perfection, either on us or our children.  Day and daily I need forgiveness of sins just as you do.  And I assure you, before I preach any sermon to you I have preached it to myself first.  You don’t want the kind of preacher whose mantra was “Do as I say not as I do.” 

Next (v.23) Moses does something rather curious.  He puts some of the blood from a ram on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.  He does the same to Aaron’s sons.

What’s going on?  It seems that this symbolises what is expected of the priests.  The right side of a person, of anything, was considered the important side.  Instead of covering them entirely with blood, Moses is symbolically indicating that their whole bodies are now handed over to God.  With their ears they must listen for his word; with their hands they must serve him; with their feet they must walk in his ways.  It takes us back to the Apostle Paul’s plea in Rom.12 that we offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God.  The priests were living sacrifices.  Their whole selves were devoted to God. 

Finally, v.30 tells us that Moses anointed Aaron and his sons with oil and blood: So he consecrated Aaron and his garments and his sons and their garments.

 To be anointed is a sign of being chosen and authorised by the Lord for a special task.  Kings as well as priests were anointed. 

The chapter ends with Moses telling Aaron and his sons to remain within the Tent of Meeting for seven days, the assumption being that there were more sacrifices to be offered during the course of the week.  It all makes our Church of Scotland ordination services look rather lack-lustre by comparison. 

APPLICATION

I wonder if you noticed that throughout the ordination service it was Moses who fulfilled the role of priest.  It was Moses who washed Aaron and his sons; who dressed Aaron and who offered the sacrifices on their behalf.  Moses was priest to the priests. 

If we are to be a kingdom of priests, we ourselves need a priest.  We need someone to offer a sacrifice on our behalf, to consecrate us, to anoint us; for we would not dare presume to serve God on our own initiative.

Therefore since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.  (Heb.4:14)

You see, not only is the Lord Jesus the sacrifice that procures God’s forgiveness for us; he is the high priest who offers that sacrifice.  Aaron and his sons operated within a system that was limited and temporary.  The blood of bulls and goats and lambs could never eradicate sin.  That’s proved by the fact that even the priests had to offer daily sacrifices for themselves.  All they could do was offer the worshipper the assurance that he was reconciled to God until the next time. 

They and the sacrifices they offered were prophetic pictures of the perfection that was to come in Christ.  Heb.7:27: Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people.  He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. 

He offered himself.  The Lord Jesus is both the perfect sacrifice and the perfect priest who offers the sacrifice.  And that sacrifice was once for all; it is sufficient for all time, never to be repeated. 

Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.  (Heb.7:26)

That’s your guarantee that what the Lord Jesus did on Calvary 2000 years ago is still effective today.  You can look to the cross and to the Lamb of God hanging there, and claim him as your sacrifice.  Do that by faith, and not only do you have your sacrifice, you have your priest, who will present himself to the Father as your perfect substitute. 

And there’s more.  The Lord Jesus’ priesthood continues (Heb.7:24): because Jesus lives for ever he has a permanent priesthood

 Although he cried out on the cross, It is finished, signalling an end to his sacrificial work; yet his work as our great high priest is by no means over.  v.25: Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him because he always lives to intercede for them.

 Do you remember I told you that Aaron wore a breastplate studded with twelve jewels representing the twelve tribes of Israel?  It was symbolic of him carrying the nation close to his heart; rather like some people these days who wear a locket with a picture of their loved ones inside. 

 The Lord Jesus Christ holds his beloved people close to his heart.

 We read in Heb.4:15: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet without sin.  Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence that we might receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Here is a high priest who sympathises with us in our struggles.  We might be so ashamed of where our darkest thoughts and desires are leading us that we are tempted to hide them from the Lord.  Satan certainly tries to persuade us that if we were to confess such shameful secrets the Lord would be bound to spurn us in disgust.  I’m sure that’s why there are so many back-slidden Christians who, having yielded to temptation, long to return to the fold, yet cannot bring themselves to do so, for they fear not only our condemnation, but the Lord’s. 

Jesus isn’t like that.  And neither should we.  He sympathises with our weaknesses.  He understands.  “Facing temptation?  Been there,” says Jesus. 

You say, But he was without sin?  How can he understand, how can he help, if he’s never actually sullied himself with sin? 

Let me illustrate it this way: is a drunk any use to another drunk?  Is an addict going to help another addict to break the habit?  Does it not sometimes take someone who has been where the drunk has been, who has endured the pain and misery that can lead to someone hitting the bottle, yet has remained sober? 

Is it not the loving mother or father, sitting through the night with their drug-addicted child , shivering with them, weeping with them, who sees them through safely to the dawn of a new day? 

When our Lord Jesus Christ lived on earth wasn’t wrapped in cotton wool.  He lived life in the raw.  He knows what it’s like to be human.  And therefore when we come to him in desperate prayer—with our fears and tears—he can truly say, I know, I know

More than that, he can and will help.  He is able to save completely those who come to God through him for he always lives to intercede for them. 

Dear struggling Christian, the Lord Jesus Christ is praying for you.  Isn’t that a wonderful, comforting thought?  The Lord Jesus Christ who died to save you continually brings you to his Heavenly Father’s attention so that nothing will stand in the way of you being saved completely. 

Look at Rom.8:33: Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?  It is God who justifies.  Who is he that condemns?  Christ Jesus—who died—more than that who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and his also interceding for us. 

 Our Lord’s prayers drown-out Satan’s accusations. 

What exactly our Lord prays is beyond our knowledge.  But we know that he prayed for his disciples while on earth.  To blustering Simon Peter he said (Lk.22:32): Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.  But I have prayed for you Simon, that your faith may not fail.  And when you have turned back strengthen your brothers. 

 That prayer saved Peter from becoming another Judas.

 John 17 tells us that the Lord poured out his heart to his Father saying: My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.  (v.15)

And later (v.24): Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory

It’s hard to imagine two prayers more necessary for the people of God today.    

Dear old Bishop Ryle puts it like this: Christ’s Priesthood is the great secret of a saint’s perseverance to the end.  Left to ourselves there would be little likelihood of our getting safe home.  We might begin well and end ill.  So weak are our hearts, so busy the devil, so many the temptations of the world, that nothing could prevent our making shipwreck. 

But thanks be to God, the Priesthood of Christ secures our safety.  He who never slumbers and never sleeps is continually watching over our interest and providing for our need. 

Start us in the narrow way of life, with pardon, grace and a new heart, and leave us to ourselves, and we should soon fall away. But grant us the continual intercession of an Almighty Priest in heaven—God as well as Man, and Man as well as God—and we shall never be lost. 

CONCLUSION

The Old Testament believers required a priest to stand between then and God, to present their  sacrifice to God.  Friends, nothing has changed.  We still need a sacrifice if we are to be at peace with God.  And we still need a priest to present it for us.

Just as the Lord Jesus Christ is our perfect sacrifice, so he is our great high priest.  Have you taken him as your sacrifice and priest?  Are you depending on him, totally depending on him, not only to start you on the Christian road, but to take you to the end of the road and to heaven itself?

Here is a priest who bears you close to his heart; a priest who feels every sadness, every sorrow.  Here is a priest who never forgets to pray for you. 

Is he your great high priest?  Can you say with men and women of faith: We do have such a high priest

Only a people with such a high priest can themselves fulfil the priestly calling of the church to the world: offering acceptable spiritual sacrifices to God; and declaring his praises to all who will listen.

LIVING SACRIFICES

Leviticus 3 with Rom.12:1-2 Sermon #2

INTRODUCTION

This week we have been marking the outbreak of World War II seventy years ago. One word which we often associate with the war is the word “sacrifice”. On monuments up and down the land, and across Europe and beyond, there are lists of the men who paid the ultimate sacrifice, the loss of their own lives, fighting for their country. Of course, it wasn’t just the soldiers on the front line who made that sacrifice. Nor was death the only sacrifice to be made. Civilians at home sacrificed the security and comfort of every day life, as food and clothing and petrol were rationed and as they worked longer and longer hours to ensure the success of the war-effort. It reminds us that the concept of sacrifice goes well beyond the original idea of presenting an offering to a god. It can be applied to any situation where we surrender something, or deprive ourselves of something, for the greater good, or for someone else’s sake. Parents may sacrifice certain necessities for themselves in order to give their children more. Conversely, a devoted daughter may sacrifice the happiness of marriage in order to care for a invalid parent. Workers may be asked to sacrifice a pay rise in order to keep the company afloat. While the concept of sacrifice may be rooted in the rites and rituals of ancient worship, we are well aware that many a sacrifice is made without a drop of blood being spilt.

RECAP

Animal sacrifices were at the heart of the Old Testament system of worship. Last week we were thinking about the sacrifice known as the burnt offering. This sacrifice was to be offered when the worshipper sought forgiveness of sins. I was pointing out that very specific instructions were given by God for how the ritual was to be performed. The animal offered had to be from the worshipper’s herd or flock, or had to be a dove or a pigeon. It couldn’t be a wild animal he had hunted down. It had to be a male without defect, that is, the most valuable he owned. It had to be alive when he brought it. It couldn’t be something that had died anyway. In short, it had to cost the worshipper something; it had to be a real sacrifice for him.

I was pointing out that these instructions came from the Lord God himself. Indeed, Leviticus is the book in the Bible with more direct quotations from God than any other. It teaches us how God wants to be worshipped. It shows us how God wants to be approached. Sinful men and women cannot barge in on God any old way. The sinfulness of sin demands that we dare not approach God without a sacrifice. I was saying that God has not changed his mind. If we, as Christians, do not enter God’s presence with animal sacrifices it is not because he no longer demands a sacrifice. It’s because a sacrifice has been offered that has everlasting and universal power.

As Christians we come before the Living God by faith in the sacrifice offered by his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, on the cross of Calvary. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. We have been redeemed, says the Apostle Peter, not with silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot. He gave himself up for us, says the Apostle Paul, as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. The hymn puts it like this: Jesus, my great High Priest, offered his blood and died my guilty conscience seeks no sacrifice beside His powerful blood did once atone and now it pleads before the throne.

 BRIDGE

Now, we tend to get impression that worship during Old Testament times was all about seeking the forgiveness of sins. We have in our minds a worshipper rather on edge; who, conscious of his guilt, brings a bull or a lamb or goat, for he is anxious about his relationship with God and his status within the community. We are vaguely aware of regulations which designate someone as “unclean” and therefore obliged to keep their distance from everyone else. There seems to be a lot of spiritual angst among the ancient Jews. While it’s true to say that the temple could be a very sombre place, that’s not the whole story. There was, in fact, a lot of joy associated with the sacrificial system. That might surprise you. But it’s true.

Earlier we read from Dt.27 where Moses looks forward to the Israelites entering the Promised Land. In v.6 he tells them to build an altar and to offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. But in v.7 he goes on to say that after the burnt offerings they are offer fellowship offerings eating them and rejoicing in the presence of the Lord your God. At the end of 1 Kings 8 we read about Solomon dedicating his brand new temple to the Lord. v.63 says: Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the Lord: twenty-two thousand cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the temple to the Lord. Now look at v.66: On the following day he sent the people away. They blessed the king and then went home joyful and glad in heart for all the good things the Lord had done for his servant David and his people Israel. No wonder they went home happy. For a fellowship-offering was different from a burnt offering. The burnt offering was completely consumed on the altar. Nothing remained. But with a fellowship-offering only certain parts of the animal were burned up. The rest was shared out among the priests and worshippers. In effect, they had a massive barbeque. And Solomon’s barbeque was a barbeque to end all barbeques.

FELLOWSHIP OFFERING

We read about the fellowship offering in Leviticus 3. There are no prizes for guessing why this sacrifice was the most popular. In a world where most people hardly ate any meat it was a chance for worshippers to gather together and have a party. There were a variety of reasons why someone might want to offer this sacrifice. It might be that you had been ill and had prayed for healing, and you had been healed. It might be that you had made a vow, a promise to God, that if something you longed for happened you would make this offering.

That’s what Hannah did. Remember how she prayed for a son, promising to return him to the Lord. Her prayer was answered, and when Samuel was weaned she brought him to the tabernacle to serve the Lord. But she also brought a bull to be sacrificed. That was a fellowship offering. And then you could just bring a fellowship offering because you wanted to. There was something you wanted to celebrate, like a bumper harvest, or the safe arrival home after a long journey. You wanted to give thanks to God. A fellowship offering was the way to do it.

The name “fellowship offering” is just one way of translating the Hebrew term. The Hebrew word is related to “shalom”, the word for peace. Hence, some translations call this a peace offering. The point is that it was about being at peace, in harmony, in close fellowship with God and with your family and friends. It was a sacrifice that was shared with others. Some aspects of the ritual were just the same as for the burnt offering. The animal had to be without defect; but it could be male or female. As with the burnt offering, the worshipper laid his hand on the head of the animal to show that he was identifying with it, before slitting its throat. It’s blood was collected by the priest who sprinkled it on the altar.

However, instead of the whole animal being placed on the altar only certain parts were. v.3 tells us that the fat, the kidneys and the liver were placed on the fire on the altar. They were for God. As they burned they became an aroma pleasing to the Lord. The rest of the animal was returned to the worshipper which he also shared with the officiating priest.

Why did the fat, the kidneys and the liver go to the Lord? In the ancient world the fat was considered the best part of the animal. I know that’s the complete opposite of our attitude. But think about it. This was a world where most people were hungry most of the time. To be fat was a sign of prosperity. To have fat animals was sign that you could afford to feed them well. We still use the phrase “living off the fat of the land” to mean that someone is living in luxury. By offering the fat to God the worshipper was giving the Lord the best part of the animal.

As for the kidneys and the liver, people then thought of them in much the way we think of the heart. We think of the heart as the centre of our emotions. We love someone with all our heart; we show appreciation by giving heart-felt praise; if we are nervous, our heart is in our mouth; to be cruel is to be heartless. By offering God the kidneys and the liver the worshipper was, as we would say, giving him his heart; giving his self whole-heartedly. So the idea of the animal being the worshipper’s substitute was still there.

CHRISTIAN APPLICATION

As Christians we are no less thankful to God for all he has done for us. Just like Old Testament believers we are grateful for the Lord’s goodness to us. The problem for us is that we don’t have any prescribed sacrifices which we can bring in order to show our gratitude to the Lord. Indeed, within our own Protestant, evangelical circles, there is a suspicion of anything that might appear to be trying to win God’s favour.

The Lord Jesus Christ is our sacrifice. We need no other sacrifice beside him. Our Roman Catholic friends can place adverts in the newspaper in fulfilment of a vow. But we don’t have such a system. Is there anything we can to do to render thanks unto the Lord, as the psalmist puts it? In Romans 12, after eleven chapters of unfolding the plan of salvation, the Apostle Paul says to his readers: Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

Actually, a literal translation would be in view of God’s mercies. It’s plural. In view of God’s many, many mercies towards us, offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. In Old Testament times the people brought an animal sacrifice to demonstrate their thankfulness to God. But now, under the new covenant, an animal is inappropriate. The God who gave up his dearly beloved Son for us deserves nothing less than ourselves, our whole selves. Just as in the past the animal sacrifice was an aroma pleasing to the Lord, so the giving of our selves is holy and pleasing to God.

Note that the apostle speaks about offering our bodies. We mustn’t make the mistake of thinking that so long as we’ve read a chapter of the Bible and said our prayers before going to sleep that we’ve done our duty to God. True worship, true devotion expresses itself in concrete, visible actions. In Hebrews 13:16 we are told: And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. No one relishes the thought of making a sacrifice; still less of being the sacrifice itself. So how do we get to the position where we are willing to sing “All to Jesus I surrender” and really mean it? Paul says it requires a change of mind.

He says in v.2: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind It means being so in love with the Lord Jesus that we are willing to turn our backs on all that the world values—willing to sacrifice it—and allow God’s Holy Spirit through God’s Word to create within us the desire for God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will. Don’t miss the fact that the apostle doesn’t command us to offer ourselves as living sacrifices. He urges us. It’s to be a freewill offering, an offering freely given, not because we have to but because we want to. That’s the idea behind the phrase this is your spiritual act of worship. The Greek word which is translated “spiritual” is logikos, which is where we get our word “logical”. The apostle is saying that when we understand the amazing grace of God; the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God, as he puts it in 11:33; then the only logical response is to love him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Scottish theologian, John Murray, talks about the constraint of consecration.

If your heart has been melted by his love, then you feel you have no alternative but to surrender all to Jesus. So how does this work out in practice? When we join the Church we promise to give a “fitting proportion of our time, talents and money for the Church’s work in the world.” What do we mean by “fitting proportion”? Fitting, I suppose, in proportion to how God has blessed us. Let me ask you: is that how you gauge the proportion of your time, talents and money you give to the Church. I’ll broaden it out: is that how you gauge the proportion of your time, talents and money you give to the Lord, whether through the Church or some other God-honouring, Christ-centred agency? When the ancient Israelites wanted to demonstrate their gratitude to the Lord they brought a sacrifice. What sacrifice are you giving the Lord; you who claim Jesus Christ as your Saviour? In these days of economic austerity money is tight. Every penny counts. Does that mean the Lord’s work must suffer? Does that mean our giving is to be any less sacrificial?

I don’t have anything to do with counting the FWO envelopes or with the finances of our Church. But I do see the reports that our treasurer Duncan Shaw produces. We have some very generous givers in this congregation. But we also have some people who, if their giving reflects how good the Lord has been to them, well, all I can say, the Lord can’t have been very good to them. Paul says of the Macedonian Christians (2Cor.8:2): Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as they were able, and even beyond their ability.

Everybody seems to be busy these days. Our most precious commodity is time. Is our time so stretched that the Lord is getting less and less of it? When we are pushed for time, does the Lord get shoved to the side? At the very least public worship on a Sunday must be sacrosanct. Are we not even willing to make sacrifices in order to honour the fourth commandment?

When we choose not be in Church, when we choose to be elsewhere, we are sending out a powerful message to all around us that our faith comes second. And we are sending that message to the Lord too. The same goes with our attitude towards our career. There often comes a time when we must ask who really owns my soul. A Christian must weigh up the money and status that promotion brings against the possibility that there will be no time left for serving others in Christ’s name. Are you giving the Lord the “fat” of your time? Or just the skin and bones?

Lord in the fullness of my might I would for thee be strong I would not give the world my heart and then profess thy love I would not feel my strength depart and then thy service prove. I would not with swift-winged zeal on the world’s errands go And labour up the heavenly hill with weary feet and slow. O not for thee my weak desires, my poorer, baser part O not for thee my fading fires, the ashes of my heart.

And then, as Christians, there are other, less quantifiable sacrifices that we make because of our faith. There are times when we must sacrifice our popularity because we refuse to go along with the crowd or are compelled to say things others don’t want to hear. We may have to sacrifice our honour and allow ourselves to be misunderstood and bad-mouthed because we won’t stoop to the same dirty tactics as our detractors. Even in the act of forgiving someone we make a sacrifice—we sacrifice a very natural desire to be the victim, we sacrifice our need for pity, and sometimes even for justice. Can I also suggest the offering to the Lord of our children?

What do I mean by that? I mean that we can be so ambitious for our children, wanting them to do well and prosper in the world, that for all the respect we give ministers and missionaries and evangelists, we wouldn’t want our own kids follow that route. And not just because these aren’t well paid jobs with very little status in our society. But because we know these are callings that in and of themselves demand huge personal sacrifices. And also because we are aware that it might mean losing them—that they won’t be around for us. As I said at the beginning, many a sacrifice is made without spilling a drop of blood.

 CONCLUSION

I want to conclude by, in a sense, standing everything I’ve said on its head. We’ve been talking about sacrifice, the sacrifices that we, as believers, may want to make in response to God’s grace and mercies. David Livingston was once asked to comment on the sacrifices he had made. Remember this was a man who could have had a lucrative career as a doctor, but who instead, endured more hardships than we could imagine, including long separations from his family and constant illness—and all for the sake, not of exploration, but the gospel. Do you know what Livingston replied? I never made a sacrifice. We ought not to talk of sacrifice when we remember the great sacrifice that he made who left his Father’s throne on high to give himself to us. It turns out that when we are in love with Jesus it never enters our heads to call anything we’ve done or anything we’ve given a sacrifice. For whatever we have lost, and whatever we have forsaken, and whatever we have been deprived of pales into insignificance when compared to the joy and the glory that is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord.

WORSHIP ACCORDING TO GOD

Sermon #1 Leviticus 1 with Heb.10:1-4

INTRODUCTION

Imagine it’s my wife’s birthday. We like to make a fuss of people on their birthday in our family. So it’s breakfast in bed for her: coffee and toast laden with jam. Then it’s time to open the presents. First one, mine. A big box. She carefully unwraps it. It’s an electric drill. She looks at me quizzically. “You’re always saying how much DIY needs doing round the house,” I say. “I thought you’d like it.” She says nothing. Next surprise. I tell her I am taking her out for lunch. “Have you booked somewhere nice?” she inquires. “No need to book the Truck Stop,” says I. “The Truck Stop,” says she. “Yes, they do great bacon sannies. And the beauty is, we can walk.” “What other treats have you in store for me?” she asks, her voice peppered with sarcasm. “Tonight,” I say enthusiastically, “we’re going to the flicks. You know how much I’ve been wanting to see the new Die Hard movie.” With that Kim disappears under the covers with a groan. “Whatever happened to ‘It’s the thought that counts’” says I, sensing a distinct lack of appreciation.

BRIDGE

It’s not much of a birthday treat if everything revolves around what the giver wants rather than the receiver. If we truly want to show our love to someone on their birthday we will make every effort to find out what it is they want, what it is that they like. That’s obvious.

Yet strangely we don’t seem to realize that this applies to God as well. How often do we hear someone say something like—I don’t need to go to church, I can worship God my way. It doesn’t occur to folk that God may have an opinion on this, that God himself may have an idea of how he wants to be worshipped. Has that ever occurred to you? When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. We believe that the Living God has revealed his mind to us through the Bible.

He has revealed how he wants us to relate to one another, with love as the guiding principle. He has given us guidance on prayer—that we are to address him as our Heavenly Father; and that we are to bring all our needs and concerns to him.

 He has told us how the Church is to function—with every member exercising their spiritual gifts for the good of the whole. And how the Church is to be governed—with elders acting like shepherds, overseeing the welfare the flock entrusted to them. The Living God has not left us to guess how he wants us to relate to one another. So why would he leave us to guess how he wants us to relate to him? The fact is, he hasn’t.  

The God who reveals himself in the Bible has very set ideas about how we are to worship him. It’s just that we are such self-centred creatures that we tend to imagine that he is bound to be happy with whatever we do; just as Kim should be happy that I even remembered her birthday.

LEVITICUS

More than any other book in the Bible, Leviticus is about how God wants to be worshipped. It’s about how God’s people are to be God’s people. It’s about how people who are sinful and unholy can have a living, vibrant, friendly relationship with the Lord their God. Leviticus is not exactly the most popular book in the Bible. Those of you who follow the “read the Bible in a year” programme probably grit your teeth and take a run at it like a school-boy being forced to run the gauntlet.

Why read Leviticus? Simply because it’s there? There are far better reasons.

Leviticus teaches us how God can be holy and yet merciful. It teaches us about sacrifice. Our Lord Jesus once said that he had not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to fulfil them (Mt.5:5:17). The wonder and the grace and the cost of what our Lord Jesus did at Calvary can only truly be appreciated if we take time to consider what it was he was fulfilling. These sacrifices, with their blood and guts and offal, which we find so disgusting, were in fact pointing forward to the ultimate sacrifice of the Son of God.

So as we look at some of these sacrifices we’re going to learn some very important things about our God and about ourselves and how he wants us to relate to him. God does not change. His nature and character never change. He is the same yesterday, today and for ever. The God of Leviticus is not a different God from the God of the Gospels, or the Epistles. He’s the same God with the same expectations. If we no longer need to slaughter animals on an altar it’s not because God no longer requires a sacrifice. It’s because a sacrifice has already been offered that has everlasting and universal power.

CONTEXT

Leviticus is really a continuation of Exodus. At the end of Exodus the Israelites are camped at the foot of Mt. Sinai. The Lord speaks to Moses, giving him the Ten Commandments, and instructing him to build a portable-temple, the tabernacle, to very exact specifications.

Within the tabernacle was the Tent of Meeting, or Holy of Holies, which contained the ark of the covenant. For a people with no image of their God, the Tent of Meeting provided a visible, tangible focus. Exodus ends with the glory of God filling the tabernacle in the form of a cloud. The very last verse says (40:38): So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during their travels.

You turn over the page, and the next thing you read, literally is: And the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting

Our modern translators don’t like starting a sentence, let alone a book, with the word “and”; but that’s what it says in Hebrew. Having given them instructions on building the tabernacle, God isn’t going to leave the Israelites to guess how to use it. The last time they were left to their own devices they constructed a golden calf.

Do you remember that incident back in Ex.32? And do you remember how they claimed that this idol of theirs was none other than the Lord God, the Lord who had delivered them from slavery in Egypt? But the Living God has very clear ideas on how he is to be worshipped. He doesn’t want his people constructing images and statues and icons of him; for the True God should never be compared to anything he has made.

Also interesting is the way the Israelites went about worshipping this golden calf. They made their sacrifices and then launched into a drunken revelry (Ex.32:6).

But again, that’s not how the Holy God wants to be worshipped. Worship involves the whole of our being, including our minds, and we can’t do that if we are drunk and out of our minds. More than that, the Holy God demands a high degree of ethical integrity from his people.

The phrase Be holy for I am holy, runs through Leviticus like a motto through a stick of rock. And it is repeated in the New Testament. With nothing else to go by, the Israelites were merely imitating what they’d seen in Egypt and in the surrounding pagan nations. They had picked up human ideas of worship. If they were to be the covenant people of God, with all the benefits that flow from that privileged status, they had to learn how the Living God himself wants to be worshipped.

I hope it’s a lesson you are willing to learn too. Almost unthinkingly we so easily adopt the world’s standards. For example, this notion that we don’t have to be in church to worship God. People say, “I can worship God when I’m out hill-walking or when I’m in the garden.” On the face of it, that’s true. We don’t need to be in a church building to worship God.

 But when we are out hill-walking, and when we are in the garden, do we worship God? Do we raise our minds towards heaven in prayer and thank him for the glory of nature? I suspect not. I suspect if we do consciously praise anything, our praise is aimed at nature itself, rather than her Creator.

But even if we do consciously praise God when we’re surrounded by the beauty of creation, that can never be an alternative to coming together with fellow believers to sing and pray and learn from the scriptures together. The Biblical pattern is that we do this at least one day a week. And I deliberately say one day a week, not one morning, or one evening a week, let alone one hour a week. One of the great gifts this church offers its members is a Sunday evening service, to help you keep the whole of the Lord’s Day. Where did we get the notion that having been at church in the morning our duty to our Maker is done? The commandment clearly states: Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy…the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God (Ex.20:8,9)

Leviticus is going to help us think through our relationship with our God. How much of that relationship has been on our terms rather than his?

TEXT

So Leviticus begins: And the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting The Lord calls Moses and says to him (v.2): Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When any of you brings an offering to the Lord, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock. And then what follows are specific instructions on how the Israelites are to offer their burnt offerings. A couple of preliminary observations.

First, note how Moses is instructed to speak to the Israelites, that is to all the people, and not just the tribe of Levi, the priests. The whole people were to be informed of God’s will, not just a professional class of clergy. The rites and rituals were not a closely guarded secret. The priests had their responsibilities and so did the people; and both knew what was expected of the other.

Surely one of the greatest curses to befall the Church of Jesus Christ is when her members start regarding the clergy as a breed apart, or as the guardians of certain mysteries. It amazes me how, even among Protestants, this attitude can prevail.

Friends, all the Word of God is for all the people of God. My duty is to exercise my gift in preaching it to you so that, as Paul says in Eph.4:12, you in turn may serve God according to your gift.

My second observation is based on the words When any of you brings. In other words, there is an expectation that the people of God will want to bring an offering to the Lord. There are numerous reasons why someone would want to make an offering. They may want to give thanks for a bumper harvest; they may be seeking forgiveness of sins.

The point is, the Lord expects his people to want to approach him, to draw near to him, to want to be in fellowship with him. So he makes provision for this. That in itself raises a question: Why does God need to make provision for us to approach him? Why can’t we approach him any way we like?

Answer: he is a holy God but we are not a holy people. Sinners just can’t go barging in on God.

In chapter 10 there is the sobering story of Nabad and Abihu, Aaron’s sons, who worshipped God the wrong way, and were consumed with fire. Approaching God can be dangerous. What Leviticus teaches us is that God himself has made approaching him possible. He has made it possible for sinful men and women to come into his presence. More than that, he has made it possible for us to be at peace with him.

How? By the offering of a sacrifice. And not just any old sacrifice; but very specific sacrifices, offered in very specific ways. They may seem unnecessary to us. The rules may seem tediously heavy on detail. May I suggest that this is because we so minimised the effect of our sin upon our God that we fail to understand just how wide the gap is separating us from him. It is because we have such a poor appreciation of what our Lord Jesus Christ achieved for us on the cross.

We’re like those who curse their computer for taking more than 10 seconds to send an e-mail; forgetting that not so long ago we were doing well if a first-class letter arrived the next day. Because we are unfamiliar with the Old Testament sacrificial system we take for granted the momentous achievement of Calvary.

Our sins are so offensive to the Living God that the only just penalty is death. The Apostle Paul says, For the wages of sin is death. (Rom.6:23) If a sinner approaches the Living God he will die. What happened to Aaron’s sons is what should happen to each and every one of us. The fact that we don’t is down to the grace and mercy of God. He has devised a way for sinners to be made right with him. Something still has to die. But instead of the sinner, the Lord allows a substitute.

You want to come before me? says the Lord. You want to be at peace with me? Then don’t just come barging in. And don’t come empty handed. You must bring a sacrifice.

The rest of chapter 1 explains the procedure for making a burnt offering; that is, the kind of offering that was totally consumed by fire on the altar. There were other kinds of sacrifices where only parts of the animal were burned, and the rest was eaten by the worshiper. The fellowship offering in chapter 3 was like that. It was as if you were sharing a meal with the Lord. The burnt offering, however, saw every part of the animal, except the skin, totally consumed. This was the most basic sacrifice and though it could be offered for various reasons the most common was for the forgiveness of sins.

Look what had to be done. The worshipper had to bring an animal from his herd (that is a bull) or his flock (a sheep). If he was not wealthy enough to own either cattle or sheep, he could offer a bird. So no one was excluded by reason of poverty.

That said, do not underestimate the cost to the worshipper. He couldn’t bring a wild animal he had captured; he couldn’t bring a defective animal that no one wanted anyway. He had to bring a male without defect, the best he owned. And it had to be alive; it couldn’t be something that had died of natural causes anyway. It was a real sacrifice.

The worshipper had to lay his hand upon the animal’s head, symbolising that this animal was taking his place, that it was his substitute. He would slit the animal’s throat and the priest would collect its blood in a basin before splashing it on the sides of the altar. The animal would have been skinned and then chopped into pieces which were then placed in the fire which always burned on the altar.

It couldn’t have been easy for the worshipper to watch something that constituted a valuable investment literally go up in smoke.

That having been done v.4 tells us that it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. God’s anger at man’s sin is now placated. There can be peace between the sinner and his God. v9 puts it like this: It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. That phrase is repeated at the end of each paragraph. The Lord is assuring the worshipper that if, by faith, he follows these instructions, believing the Lord’s promise that this is how to approach him, he will be accepted; his offering will be pleasing to the Lord.

CHRISTIAN APPLICATION

As Christians we no longer need to bring the pick of our herd or flock to receive forgiveness of sins. But that’s not because God changed him mind about how sinful men and women are to approach him. We still need a sacrifice.

 What the New Testament teaches us is that our Lord Jesus Christ is that sacrifice. We read earlier from Heb.10. v.1 says: The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. The law was preparing us for the One who was coming who would do more than simply allow sinners to approach a holy God. He would deal with our sin once and for all. Heb.10 tells us the limitations of these animal sacrifices. They did not cleanse, they did not lift the burden of guilt, they could not take away sins.

But Jesus does. Later in Heb.10 we read (v.22) that because of Jesus we can draw near to God in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from to cleanse us from a guilty conscience. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. We have been redeemed, says Peter, not with silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (1Pet.1:19)

Do you want to be at peace with God? Do you want a living, vibrant relationship with him? Do you want the sin that prevents such a relationship with him removed? In by faith you must come to him with the sacrifice he has provided. You must come to him believing that his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, gave his life for you. He is your substitute; and therefore he is your Saviour. It may not be your idea of how to approach God or relate to him. But the Bible tells us it that it’s God’s. He wants us to come to him by faith in his Son who, as Paul says to the Ephesians, gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Eph.5:1)

Preaching Leviticus

A few weeks ago I began a series of sermons from Leviticus.  As someone said, “That takes a lot of guts.”  And another confessed he thought it would be “offal.”

I’d been thinking about it for a while; but it’s only because we now have an Assistant that I’ve felt I have the time to ponder the text of what is one of the least accessible books of the Bible.  I just don’t think I’d have had the time to do that if I were still preaching twice a week.

Why preach Leviticus?  I suppose one answer could be, Just because it’s there.  It is, after all, as much part of Holy Scripture as any of the other 65 books.  Paul’s observation in 2Tim. 3:16 that all Scripture is God-breathed applies as much to Leviticus as it does to Genesis or the Psalms.  And if our Lord explained to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus what was said about him in all the Scriptures beginning with Moses, Leviticus must have been included.(Lk.24:27)

Derek Tidball in his very helpful little commentary in the Crossway Bible Guides series gives some answers.  Leviticus helps us to understand that God is holy yet merciful.  It teaches us the meaning of sacrifice and of being living sacrifices.  It encourages us to give the best to God in worship.  It instructs us in the qualities leaders in the church should have.  It leads us to Christ who makes atonement for our sin.  It sets out for us principles of family, sexual and social behaviour.  It teaches us to celebrate the faithfulness of God as our Creator and Saviour.  It helps us to understand the true meaning of liberty.  It show us that our faith has implications for our views on politics and economics.  And it teaches us the importance of obeying God’s commands.

For me there is another reason.  In recent years Leviticus has become the most reviled, mocked, derided book in the Bible.  Only recently a student taking a course in Religious Studies told me this story: The lecturer began by asking if there were any Christians in the class.  Several raised their hands.  To hoots of laughter from the rest of the class he attacked them: Then why are you wearing clothes made from more than one fabric?  A reference to a Levitical ban.  We’ve all read the so-called letter asking for an explanation as to how one goes about stoning one’s rebellious son and whether or not one should boycott the local fishmonger for selling prawns. 

In short, there has been a deliberate and sustained attack on the Levitical code.  And why?  Because it states that a man lying with a man is abhorrent.  The argument goes—it is inconsistent to still believe homosexual practice is abhorrent if one enjoys a prawn cocktail. 

What is particularly sad is that such attacks have come from ministers of the Gospel, ministers of Word and Sacrament, who, of all people, should have studied scripture and be at the forefront of defending it. 

So, for the sake of my congregation, who like so many others, want to believe that all Scripture is God-breathed, but find Leviticus incomprehensible, I felt duty bound to have a go at expounding it.  I’ve preached three sermons so far which I’ll post in the next three days [note—there is nothing in them about the CURRENT DEBATE].  I hope you find them helpful and if you have any constructive comments don’t hesitate to make them.  I’m not doing line by line, chapter by chapter; but rather picking out key themes and moments from the book.

So far, for me, the most important lesson has been that God hasn’t changed his mind.  He still requires a sacrifice to be made for the forgiveness of sins, and we still require a priest to present it on our behalf.  Leviticus has much to teach us about our God, our Saviour and ourselves.